| Nueva ola | |
|---|---|
 Photograph used on the cover of anueva ola record released in Argentina in 1960. An example of the "Americanization" that characterized the new youthmass culture, it depicts young people dancingrock and roll, drinkingCoca-Cola, wearingblue jeans and admiring American singers. | |
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Late 1950s to early 1960s,Hispanic America |
| Typical instruments |
|
| Other topics | |
Thenueva ola (Spanish for "new wave") was acultural phenomenon that took place in severalHispanic American countries between the late 1950s and the mid-to-late 1960s, linked to the spread of new musical styles aimed at young people—such aspop,rock and roll and thetwist—which "constituted the fundamental channels for the transformation of consumption, leisure, and youth fashions" of the time.[1] It was a regional manifestation of a phenomenon occurring in much of theWestern world: the emergence of a newmarket segment made up of young people with their own habits and shared codes that set them apart from their parents' generation.[2][3] In countries such as Argentina, young people were introduced to rock and roll music through films likeBlackboard Jungle (1955) andRock Around the Clock (1956)—both featuring music byBill Haley & His Comets—and quickly adopted it as one of the traits identifying them as an independent social group, along with the use ofblue jeans (locally "vaqueros").[1][4][5] Thenueva ola was not a homogeneous musical style but encompassed a wide range of genres, including rock and roll, pop,surf rock,romantic ballads and evenLatin American music such asbolero andcumbia, constituting a musical scene in which artists, record buyers, record labels, and mass media interacted.[6][7]
Noticing the growing popularity of American rock and roll and pop among young audiences and the commercial potential of adapting them into Spanish, multinational labels—mainlyRCA Victor andColumbia Records—promoted thenueva ola in countries such as Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Peru, creating a new set ofteen idols while relying on the expansion of mass media, especially radio and television.[5][7] The figure of these new youth idols followed an international pattern, analogous to theyé-yé phenomenon in France,[8] as well as the cases ofRita Pavone in Italy,Petula Clark in England, theDúo Dinámico in Spain andRoberto Carlos with theJovem Guarda in Brazil, among others.[6] In fact, much of the repertoire ofnueva ola performers consisted of versions of American and European hits.[6] Although presented as a phenomenon of cultural modernization for youth, thenueva ola promotedfamily values andtraditional gender roles, omitting the rebellious potential of rock and roll and creating a "softened" version, something similar to what had also occurred in the United States and Europe.[9][10]
In Argentina—the main promoter of thenueva ola in South America and the country where the term was coined—the epitome of the phenomenon wasEl Club del Clan (1962–1964),[5][11] a successful television program that launched the country's first teen idols, includingVioleta Rivas, Johnny Tedesco,Raúl Lavié, Jolly Land,Chico Novarro, and especiallyPalito Ortega, the most popular of the group.[6] Thenueva ola also had an important presence in Chile, with performers such asBuddy Richard, Danny Chilean, Los Red Juniors, Luis Dimas, José Alfredo Fuentes, Fresia Soto andCecilia, who in 1965 won theViña del Mar Festival.[12] In Colombia, the movement was also known as "go-gó" and "ye-yé," promoted by producers Carlos Pinzón andAlfonso Lizarazo, and reinforced through a local version ofEl Club del Clan.[13] In Peru, some of the best-known idols included Pepe Miranda, Gustavo "Hit" Moreno, Pepe Cipolla and Joe Danova, although the labelnueva ola also encompassed groups that would later be considered by Peruvian rock historians as outside the phenomenon, such asLos Saicos and Los Shain's.[7]
In 1960,RCA Victor general manager Ricardo Mejía discovered through amarket research that there were almost nopopular music stars among the youth.[14] As a result, the company began the selection of new singers, initiating the phenomenon of the nueva ola in Argentina.[14] Led by Mejía, RCA executives partnered with future journalist Leo Vanes and musicians Ray Nolan and Jimmy Lerman to create the TV showEl club del clan.[15] Based on foreign music shows, each episode showed a group of friends that got together to perform various styles of music including rock 'n' roll (and the accompanyingtwist),bolero andcumbia.[14] The personality of each interpreter was modeled taking into account the type of music they would sing.[15] The show aired onCanal 13 on Saturdays at 8:30 pm,[15] and proved to be extremely successful for RCA.[14] It turned its young cast—which includedPalito Ortega, Billy Caffaro,Violeta Rivas, Lalo Fransen, Nicky Jones andCachita Galán—into the first nationalteen idols.[14][15] Journalist Miguel Grinberg describedEl club del clan in 2006 as "a kind of juvenile ebullition that, impelled by television, established a basic difference, that was young people who did not reproduce the music of their parents."[14]
In 1964, afterThe Beatles' performances in the United States,Beatlemania also reached Argentina, generating the appearance of several bands that imitated their sound and fashion.[16] The nueva ola was overshadowed by the popularity ofBritish Invasion bands, while at the same time a feeling nonconformity grew among the youth, which saw the phenomenon as too carefree and compliant.[14][15][17] Before the dissolution of the group and "as a farewell," anEl club del clan film directed byEnrique Carreras was released on March 12, 1964.[17]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)